If True Love Exists
by onepieceofcake
Summary: Willa always knew she loved Philby. Philby always knew he loves Willa, but when they go their separate ways in college will love be enough to keep them together? After months of hanging on Willa begins to question if it was ever really love at all.
1. Chapter 1

"What!?" Willa exclaimed outraged by something Philby had said. He just gave a rare laugh and went to refill his drink, leaving Willa alone to observe the scene before her. It was late summer and the Keepers had decided to get together one last time before they all moved on in different directions.

Willa tried to push away all the thoughts of the separation of her closest friends and enjoy the party in Philby's backyard. She smiled at the scene. Finn and Amanda were in the pool, whispering in each others ears. Charlene was shrieking as Maybeck held her bridal style getting ready to jump in. Jess was chatting with Storey, Kenny and a few other young Imagineers they had befriended. These where her people and, man, would she miss them. She turned to see Philby through the glass door to the kitchen. She smiled at the way his eyes lit up as he smiled at something Mrs. Whitman had said. Her heart constricted. She would miss him the most. They were more than friends, they both knew that. They talked everyday at school, texted constantly, hung out all the time, both with other friends and alone. She could finish his sentences, together they were unstoppable, she woke him up with a kiss of true love for goodness sake! Yet here they were, moving on, going to different schools, they probably wouldn't see each other for months.

"Hey," she turned to see the subject of her thoughts standing next to her.

What's wrong? " He asked

"Nothing" she forced the thoughts from her head and smiled. Just then Charlene walked by dripping wet, calling Maybeck some unsavory names as Maybeck followed laughing.  
"It's not just you!" Maybeck yelled "Look! I'll throw Willa in too!"

" No!" Willa shrieked as Maybeck scooped her up and tossed her in.

"Philby helllllp!" Was her last cry before she went under water. Philby went to the side of pool ready to pull her out, instead she yanked him, fully clothed into the warm pool water.

"Hey!" He yelled and dunked her despite her yelling and laughing. Soon everyone joined and it turned into a full fledged splashing war. Willa didn't think of much else until much later.

...LINE BREAK...

"Philby, I'm going to bed. Make sure this is all cleaned up! Willa don't stay to late!" Mrs Philby yelled as she closed the kitchen door.

Everyone had gone but Willa, who stayed to help clean up. They worked quietly side by side throwing away plastic cups and hanging up wet swim towels.

" So." Philby interjected into their small talk, later, when they were sitting side by side, feet dangling into the pool.

"What?" She knew what he was trying to say, but she wanted to hear him say it.

"What are we Willa?" He turned to her, eyes searching. " What does next year look like for us?"

"I don't know Philby..." She said looking down, toying with her hands.

"Willa," He said, she looked up. "I...I love you, and I don't want to move on without knowing that you feel the same. I want us to be official, I want you to be my girlfriend"

"Philby. You can be an idiot sometimes, you know that?" She said half laughing. "I have loved you for as long as I have known you. Of course I feel the same way. Yes."

"Good." He smiled and laughed with relief. Willa reached over and grabbed his hand. He pulled her closer and kissed her softly. She savored the moment. Their first real kiss. When they broke apart she looked down, feeling suddenly shy.

" It's late, I should go home. But I'll text you later okay?" She said.

"Okay." He smiled and walked her out to her car. Willa drove away slowly. She was actually Dell Philby's girlfriend. She laughed out of pure happiness. Finally.

...

A/N Hey everyone! I'm so excited to share this Wilby story with you guys. Review and let me know your thoughts!


	2. Chapter 2

-August 25th 3pm-

"What next..." Willa murmured to herself as she surveyed her small dorm. She had made her bed, hung her clothes and stocked her kitchenette. She now began to unpack small personal effects. She layed out all her office supplies and books on the desk and the few shelves surrounding it. She plumped her favorite throw pillow that had "When you wish upon a star" embroidered on the front, on her bed. Smiling she removed a picture of her and Philby. The picture had been taken by Charlene one afternoon at The Marble Slab. They were working on a difficult equation together, they were both leaning in to look at the paper, heads touching, brows furrowed. It wasn't the cutest picture ever taken but it was so natural and real it made Willa's heart ache. She lovingly placed it next to a group picture of the Keepers. She sighed, It had been a fun day getting here, she had already met her roomate. A cheerful and upbeat girl named Elisa, she had a short walk through of campus and set up her room. Willa lay down on her bed. She was exhausted. The day _ha_ d been fun but also quite long. Closing her eyes she drifted off.

She woke up with a start when her phone buzzed. She groggily sat up and turned on her phone. She had 4 unread texts, one from her Mom, one from Charlene and two from Philby. She opened Philby's first.

 _Have you settled in? I hope your roomate is better than mine, if I have to listen to Hotline Bling one more time..._

 _Hey, call me when you have some downtime!_

She smiled. He had gone to college last week and was already settled in. She checked her clock. It was 7:09 pm for her, so it was about 10:00 for him, not too late. She hit speed dial.

" Hey!" She heard his voice and smiled.

"Hey yourself, how's college?" She asked, and it didn't take long for Philby to animatedly start talking about school. They had been talking for a good hour when Willa's roomate walked in.

"Hey" she mouthed, seeing Willa was on the phone. Willa smiled,

"Okay, we'll talk tomorrow, love you" she finished and hung up.

"Who was that?" Elisa asked curiously.

" Oh, that was my boyfriend" Willa smiled a little shyly.

"Ooooo," Elisa exclaimed settling on her bed "tell me more!"


	3. Chapter 3

Willa closed her laptop and began to shove things in her bag. Her history study group had run late tonight and all she wanted to do was go to her dorm, eat some food and sleep. She checked her phone. It was 9:30 pm that meant for Philby it was only 7:30 and he would be in one of his classes till 8:30 his time, 11:30 her time. She sighed audibly. If Brittany, the party girl of the study group had actually participated in the studying rather than pester her with questions about the Keepers and commenting on how hot Finn was, than she would of been done earlier and she could of Skyped or called Philby like they had planned. Now it was to late and she would have to wait till tomorrow. She climbed the stairs to her room. Unlocking the door she collapsed onto her bed. Elisa was out, she was actually glad, the peace and quiet was nice. She sent Philby a text.

 _Sorry I missed our call, I was held up in my study group, one of the girls only parties and asks questions about us and it took twice as long to study for our test._

She made herself some Top Ramen and sat cross legged on her bed. She looked at her calendar. It was October 19th. She had stuff all this month, there was no getting away. Maybe the first weekend of November she could get away and visit Philby in California. She checked flights and times. She only had early classes on Friday so if she took the 2:20 flight she could be in California as early as 5:30 thanks to the time change. She could leave late Sunday night because her first Monday class wasn't until 9:30. This could work! Her heart lifted she missed him as much she thought she would. She finalized the payment for plane tickets and closed her laptop, leaning back she smiled. She would even see Amanda and Jess again!

...

Willa looked around the circular drive at Bob Hope Airport. She glanced down at her phone. According to the app her Uber driver was in a white Tacoma, shielding her eyes from the sinking sun she spotted the car and waved. The driver pulled up and she got in the car, placing her overnight bag next to her. The driver turned around, she was middle aged woman with a motherly face.

"Hello, I'm Sandy" she said kindly.

"Hi, I'm Willa" she smiled.

"Willa...wait are you one of those hologram people at Disney?"

"Yes." Willa confirmed, being used to that question.

"I thought you looked familiar! My youngest daughter was obsessed with you guys in middle school. Especially the one called Philby, she would die if she knew I was telling you this!" She laughed. "So are you here for Disney stuff?"

"No, actually, I'm just here to visit my boyfriend" Willa said.

"Oh, how nice! What's his name?"

" Actually my boyfriend is Dell Philby from the Kingdom Keepers"

"Well isn't that wonderful! He's a handsome young man! My daughter will be jealous when she hears about this!" She joked. Willa laughed along with her.

"Yeah, we are trying a long distance relationship. It's been hard but I'm surprising him this weekend with a visit!" Willa didn't know why she was admitting this to this practical stranger, but something about Sandy reminded her of her mom, and she needed to talk.

"Well, you know what they say, distance makes a heart grow fonder! Besides, if you two really love each other than you'll be able to figure it out. The key is communication. My husband had to move halfway across the country for work when we were first engaged. We talked everyday as often as possible and never had a problem."

"Wow. That's so awesome!" Willa said.

"It's a bit of a miracle story, not all relationships work out that way, but if you two are really committed and can work together than you can really make it."

"That helps a lot, thank you." Willa gratefully said. The conversation moved on to how they became a couple and by the time they were pulling up to the Disneyland Resort entrance, Willa felt lighthearted, especially when she thought of seeing Philby again.

She had called Amanda and told her her plan and Amanda had gotten Jess and Philby to come to Disneyland that evening. She sent a quick text to Amanda,

 _I'm here, where are you at?_

She had entered the park and was walking through Mainstreet before Amanda texted back

 _We just got in line for Space mountain_

Willa navigated through the surging crowds and made her way up the walk to the line of Space Mountain. She spotted Philby's red head first, thankfully his back was turned. She made her way through the line, trying to keep her down, the last thing she needed was for someone to recognize her. Amanda spotted her and smiled discreetly. She crept up behind Philby,standimg on her tiptoes she covered his eyes

"What the-" He uttered.

" Guess who" Willa said.

" Wait-" He turned suddenly disbelief lighting his eyes "Willa!" He hugged her tightly. "How did you get here?"

"I had a free weekend and thought I would surprise you!"

"Well it worked!" He smiled taking her hand. Willa laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder. Jess, Amanda and Willa all exchanged hugs and they started talking. This weekend was going to be amazing.

...

A/N Hey fellow KK fans, any feedback? I love some constructive criticism!


	4. Chapter 4

"So, I'll see you over Christmas break?" Philby asked leaning against Willa's forehead their noses touching. They were at the airport, Sunday evening. Willa's plane left in an hour.

"Yeah, I was planning on it" she smiled. He leaned in and kissed her. The weekend had been magical. They had spent every moment possible together. Willa heart was so full. Willa broke the kiss,

"I need to go through security now" Willa said regret.

" Nooooo" Philby groaned and pulled her into a hug. She rested her head on his chest and sighed.

"I'll call after my flight" she said, going up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"Okay." He said smiling at her. She started down to the security line. She glanced back, Philby was smiling.

...

Willa leaned against the window of the plane. She sighed, smiling, she couldn't remember the last time she felt this lighthearted. Philby was so happy and casual this weekend. They hadn't argued at all, which was pretty unusual for them. She was falling deeper and deeper in love with him. She knew she had to slow down, not get to deep in while there was still time for it fall apart, but why worry when they were both so in love?

...

 _Hey, it's Philby, leave me a message._ Willa sighed. She hadn't been able to reach him all day. She knew he was busy, but besides the occasional text they hadn't talked in three days. It was early December now and she was trying to finalize details for their Christmas plans.

"Hey Dell, it's me. Call me sometime soon okay"

She buried her face into her pillow. This was much harder than she thought. They had so well planned in the beginning of the year, but as they both got busier she was finding it harder than ever to find time to do more than send a text, a text that sometimes Philby didn't respond to until hours later. She flopped down and groaned.

" What's wrong with you?" Elisa asked coming into the room.

"Nothing, I just haven't been able to actually _talk_ to Philby in a few days and I'm frustrated..." She admitted.

"Oh. That sucks. Well! Come out with me and get your mind off of it" Elisa said enthusiastically.

"I don't know...I don't really feel like going out right now."

"Come _on_ Willa, you haven't done anything but go to class in weeks, come and have some fun!"

Willa sighed, it was true. Elisa was always inviting her to go out, but she always said no. Maybe it would be good to get out.

"Okay fine. Where are going? And can I wear this?" Willa gestured to her University sweatshirt and yoga pants.

" A party, and absolutely not!" Elisa exclaimed. "Come on let's get you looking nice!"

Willa looked out of the window apprehensivly as they pulled up to a junior's house off campus. Elisa parked and jumped out and started walking towards the house that was throbbing with loud music and people's voices.

"Wait! Elisa," Willa yelled and ran to catch up. Elisa stopped and turned around. "What kind of party is this, I'm not a partyer!"she hissed.

"Willa, chill. It's going to be fun, nothing bad is going on!" She said reassuringly.

" Okay..." Willa said still unsure. She had never partied in highschool. She not only wasn't interested, but the Keepers had kept her so busy she never had the time. She followed Elisa into the house. The music blared loudly. To loudly for her tastes. She pushed her way through the crowds of people dancing and talking. Elisa met up with a large group of friends, Willa recognized a few of them but there were mostly new faces. Elisa made a vague general introduction and Willa smiled and waved. The conversation moved on to other things, Willa edged her way to the wall and hung back feeling uncomfortable.

" Hey," she heard a voice say in her direction. She turned to see a dark boy say to her.

"Do I know you?" He asked.

"No, not that I know of..." She said, not recognizing him in the least.

"Wait, I've got it, are you, one of those Disney hologram guides?" He said with a look that said he already knew.

" Yes, I am." Willa said slightly annoyed.

"I just wanted to know if I was right, have you been here all semester? I haven't seen you around. I'm Tyler, by the way"

"I'm Willa, and I've been here all year." she said apologetically.

"Do want a drink?" He asked

"No thanks, I'm much of a drinker."

"A coke than?"

"Fine, anything to get away from this wall."

They walked into the kitchen which was less crowded. Tyler lead her to a table with a punk looking blonde girl and a Asian boy.

" Hey guys, this is Willa! Willa, this is Sarah and Mike." They both smiled and said hello.

She said hi and took a seat. It didnt take long for them take long for them to start talking like old friends. Willa looked up in surprise as Elisa plunked down.

"I have no interest in beer pong." She explained.

They laughed and nodded. The night passed with lots of talking and fun. Willa was delighted by this new group. She was enjoying herself so much she didn't hear her phone ringing and completely missed Philby's call.


End file.
